I watched “Heroes” last night while babysitting. After all these years of reading X-Men, I thought I had my ideas about ideal superpowers all figured out — definitely flight with some super-strength and a little shape-shifting when handy. But then I saw the “Heroes” character who can mimic whatever she sees and knew I’d found the right power for me. I would be a pretty useless mutant in battle, though. Because, if I were her, I would have stopped watching Bruce Lee movies in about two minutes, switched to Country Music Television, and bought a guitar a.s.a.p. Then started watching PBS orchestra specials and Discovery’s “Man vs. Wild.”

Generations of novelists would be happy to hear that their romantic notions and suspicions have been scientifically verified. According to this Reuters article, it has been shown that “the stress and anxiety of hostile, angry relationships can boost the risk of developing heart disease.” And notably, the negative effects outweigh the positive effects of these relationships on the physical level because those involved continue to dwell on the pain.